Hint Mints - New Breath Mints Reviewed

In order to establish a personal relationship with a breath mint, the packaging and presentation must be as utilitarian as it is stylish: the balance of form and function. This may sound silly, as what self-respecting individual needs to establish any sort of relationship with a breath mint? But dating as far back as the 1970s era plastic Tic Tac dispensers, and more recently the Altoids tin phenomenon, people (whether conscious or not) want something a little more from their breath mint experience than just sweet smelling breath.

The latest semi-hip mint is the Hint Mint line of flavored mints. Available in a curved slide tin that effortless fits into your back pocket much more elegantly than an iPhone, Hint Mints are angling to be the new style of mint, or as the marketing jargon claims, "Style with a sense of irony." Not sure exactly where the irony fits into this product, but nevertheless, Hint Mints are an appealing little product. The tin is both contemporary as well as evocative of the sort of personal product a consummate gentleman would have carried a century ago (tobacco, snuff, etc). While carrying anything in your back pocket doesn't exactly scream style and refinement, these curved slide tins can be thrown into a purse as easily as they can be slipped into a breast pocket or cell phone pocket. Similar to Altoids, Hint Mint has also enlisted the help of graphic artists to add a bit more flair to their stylish product. Artists like James Jean, Gary Baseman and Shag have all designed custom tins for several Hint Mint products.

Packaging aside, the mints (as humble little tablets) range from tasty to a little disappointing. The newest flavor, Pomegranate Açai (utilizing two of the latest antioxidant "it" ingredients) might be the best of the bunch with an appealing tartness and tempered sweetness. The Black Licorice is suitably spicy and so is the Cinnamon. The Green Tea mint and the Chocolate mints fall a little far from their target with some odd off-flavors and a bit too much sweetness in the mix. While some of the mint varieties contain sugar and/or sorbitol as sweetener, some contain malodextrin (a white powdered sweetener derived from potatoes or corn), which has been deemed safe by the FDA, but still raises suspicion among some consumers. That said, all of these products contain no gelatin, no aspartame, and no animal ingredients (a sticking point for the Altoids company that had been manufacturing their popular mints with beef gelatin for several years).

Hint Mints are available in a multitude of flavors and sold in stylish 1.1-ounce tins (approximately $3.99) at It's a Grind, Bristol Farms, Beverage & More, Cost Plus, and Whole Foods Markets.

Travel down the grocery aisles with Eric as he keeps an eager, but skeptical, eye on the merchandise and foodstuff that fill the grocery shelves. Learn what's hot, what's not, and what's just plain weird, as he obsessively reads labels, admires packaging, dismisses misleading marketing ploys, and takes you along for some serious yet fun food shopping.
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